Many different types of protective devices have been used for protecting various parts of the human body to protect against impacts which occur in various activities, particularly in sports activities. The recent development of in-line skates has emphasized the need for protective devices for knees, hands, elbows and heads. Many old style protective devices have been utilized as well as improved upon for protecting these vulnerable portions of the body. The expanded use of in-line skates has emphasized the need for an effective, light weight, comfortable and inexpensive protective device, especially useful for protecting the pelvic region.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,472,472, 4,538,301, 4,881,529 and 4,985,931 describe and illustrate a number of different forms of protective devices. However, the construction of these devices does not provide the form of light weight, comfortable yet inexpensive protective device that will protect against impact incurred when a body falls going at vastly different velocities as provided for by the present invention.